How to watch Tour de France Stages 1, 2 and 3 live…

How to watch Tour de France Stages 1, 2 and 3 live stream

Tadej Pogačar picture on the UAE team bus

Tour de France Stages 1, 2 and 3 live streams

Stages 1, 2 and 3 preview

This year’s Grand Depart is set in the Basque Country with three stages of almost relentless climbing which are sure to be an all-out slug-fest from start to finish. Make sure you know how to watch a Tour de France free live stream from anywhere.

The traditional opening stage of a Tour is usually either a short time trial or a flat sprinter’s stage where you can go some way to predicting a winner, but who takes the 182km stage one, a loop that starts and finishes in Bilbao, is anyone’s guess. With 12 significant climbs on the route, five of which receive official classification, whoever does win will need to be on it from kilometre one.

Stage two from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien has a more gentle opening but that just makes the last three quarters of the 209km distance even harder as the climbs are even more frequent and savage than those of the first day. With five categorised ascents, including the final 2nd cat climb, the famous Jaizkibel, this is sure to have the intensity of a classic one-day race and could see an early change for the Yellow Jersey.

The third and final Basque stage takes the riders out of Northern Spain from Amorebieta-Etxano across the border to Bayonne in France. Accumulating nowhere near as much altitude as the previous two, this, on paper, should be the first chance for the sprinters to strike.

It’s by no means flat so teams with riders who can climb and sprint will be working hard to eliminate those who hate the hills before the final run in. Below we've everything you need on how to watch the Tour de France 2023 from anywhere.

How to watch a FREE Tour de France live stream

One of the best things about the Tour de France is that it's completely free to watch in lots of countries around the world. For example:

UK – ITV4 and ITVX streaming service / S4C and S4C on BBC iPlayer

France – France TV Sport

Belgium – RTBF

Italy – Rai Sport

Australia – SBS

If you're from any of the countries listed above but you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing out on that free coverage. All you need to do is subscribe to a VPN to watch a free Tour de France live stream and re-connect to your home streaming coverage.

How to watch Tour de France 2023 from outside your country

If you're keen to watch the Tour de France but you're away from home and the coverage is geo-blocked, then you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.

Use a VPN to get a Tour de France live stream from anywhere.

Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN.

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location.

3. Go to the broadcaster's live stream - so if you're from the UK, just head to ITVX and watch the cycling as if you were back at home!